Blood on a White Rose
by AmyJ'sLibrary
Summary: Liana Jones is my own oc based off of Alaska, but in this story everyone will be human with human names. After the chaos of WW2 ended, she thought she and her two brothers were safe, but they were wrong. In 1947 yet another war breaks out and Liana decides she won't be on the sidelines this time. She meets her squad leader Ivan Braginski falling in love. But can love conquer war?
1. Chapter 1

"I think that's enough." She said as she pulled the bottle away from her boisterous brother. He reached clumsily after it but made no real effort to tear it away from her pale hands. He had earned it, really, the girl thought as she walked with a half empty bottle of bourbon. After all those years of terrible fighting, the glory of winning the war was starting to wear off, things were beginning to return back to focusing on recovering rather than still celebrating in the streets, but people were still happy.

However it was still a heavy burden on everyone's shoulders. And those unhappy with the current state of Europe had fled to America in search of a better life so it wasn't unlikely to find people from all over in their little neighborhood. They would often stay in group homes as New York was an expensive place to live, post-war or not. It wasn't unheard of to have as many as five or six in one house who weren't related, all from different countries. It was certainly less common to be ridiculed for one's heritage in this part of town but it still happened, especially in those parts dominated by one nationality. She often wondered why America? Why was this the country that everyone ran away to? Was it the fact that there was an entire ocean separating them from their pasts? Alfred, the girl's brother, said that it was because America was the hero and saved all of their asses at the end of the war but she prefered to call it a team effort, at least around her allied neighbors. She turned around to look at her drunk brother, Alfred F. Jones. His blonde hair was sticking up in places and his glasses were askew. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, and he may as well have considering he had declared today _National American Drinking Day_ , which she knew didn't exist but figured she might as well indulge him. He had been a fighter pilot in the war and she found it best to just give him what he wanted, after all, she would want the same treatment if she had gone through it.

She glanced down at the bottle and saw her distorted reflection in its surface. Long black hair, pale skin, and freckles, the only trait she shared with her two older twin brothers was all three of them had sparkling baby blue eyes, a Jones family trait. Alfred's twin brother Matthew had fallen asleep as well, but that was because he had been up late the night before in town, which was oddly out of character for him. She questioned if she should ask him about it when he woke up, but decided against it as he probably wouldn't answer her quarries and claim that Alfred had dragged him along. If that was true or not, she would never know.

The bourbon made a light thumping sound as she set it down in the cabinet and closed it. The sound seemed to wake Alfred. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and adjusted his glasses and groggily looked at his sister.

"Liana?" He stumbled out of his chair and Liana caught him with ease. Swinging his arm around her shoulders as to keep him from falling. "What are you doing?"

"Putting the booze away," she said, starting to walk towards Alfred's bedroom in the small apartment. "It's 9:30 in the evening and you're already passed out drunk."

"You're not the boss of me." He slurred.

Liana sighed as she opened the door to his bedroom, "Of course I'm not." She dumped him rather sloppily onto his bed and pushed the strands of hair that had fallen into her eyes. Liana quietly closed the door behind her and looked out into their small apartment. The livingroom, dining room, and kitchen all came together in one large space while a few doors on various walls led to bedrooms and bathrooms.

Liana walked over to Matthew, who had his head resting on his arms as he sat glumly at the table. He had one of his hands, turning the dial on the radio and scrolling through different channels.

"Strange now, huh?" Liana said, sitting down across from him. Matthew brushed his long blonde hair out of his eyes and smiled weakly at his little sister. He looked just like Alfred, only his glasses were rounder and he had a much quieter demeanor, and he didn't drink as much, even though he had seen just as much in the war. "Not being able to listen to all of the broadcasts about updates on the w…" Liana trailed off as she met Matthew's gaze. "Well at least you're not drunk."

"No, thank god I'm not." Matthew shook his head slightly, shaking his beer bottle for emphasis, it was still about half full. He looked at Liana for a long time, as if he was remembering something. Something before all of this, before they knew the meaning of concentration camps and discrimination and killing and war, but then again, Liana was never sure if there really had been a time like that. She had turned 19 at the end of the March and could barely remember a time before she had turned six or seven that there wasn't a world wide crisis going on. Matthew seemed to blink out of his haze and stared down at his hands. "Liana I think that you should go for a walk."

She hated this, being in no position to deny anyone anything, because if she did she would be depriving them of something they may actually desperately need. Matthew with his need to be alone with his thoughts, and Alfred to drink his thoughts away. She closed the door behind her and pulled on the sleeves of her light blue sweater. The winter breeze moved her hair as she walked down the staircase and onto the sidewalk of their street, pulling her jacket tighter around her shoulders. Normally, a woman walking alone in New York at night would be a very dangerous thing for her to be doing, but as long as Liana stayed to the two or three blocks that held the kind and international friends that she knew would keep her safe. But there was still a heavy burden of loneliness on her shoulders, and as Liana passed a small door with the number 14 painted on it she decided to cure her ailment, even if only for a moment or two.

Liana knocked on the door and a few seconds later a girl opened it. She looked to be about Liana's age and had long shimmering blonde hair tied into two braids and was wearing a white and blue checkered dress. Her eyes were green but they looked to be worn down by something. That something soon made itself aware a small but quick tiny girl around 5 or 6 tugged on the bottom of her dress. She had curly blonde hair in pigtails and a frilly pink and white dress.

"Dorothy." Liana smiled.

"Oh, good evenin' Liana," Dorothy responded in a thick southern drawl. The little girl pulled on her skirt again and Dorothy snapped at her. "I told you not to do that no more, Nellie-Rose." Nellie-Rose was Dorothy's little sister. Dorothy had originally been from Kansas until she ran away from her abusive home with her boyfriend, little sister and big dreams to make it on broadway, that last bit was still a work in progress. Dorothy directed her attention back to her friend, "I'm sorry, sugar, was there something you wanted?"

"Just wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me right now. The boys kicked me out and I'm feeling a bit lonely is all."

Dorothy nodded, "Well of course I'll join you, but we have to bring Nellie-Rose along if you don't mind. Travis is working late tonight and I've got her all to myself." Dorothy sent Liana a pained smile. "I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't for the fact that-"

"Dowthy!" Nellie-Rose slurred through the gap in her front teeth. "I wanna walk with Liana!" Dorothy looked to her friend for approval, Liana leaned down and swooped the little girl up into her arms and Nellie-Rose squealed with glee.

"Of course you can walk with me!" Liana laughed. She supposed that there still was some innocence in this world. After all, little Nellie-Rose had lived her whole life in a war zone and she still managed to laugh and run around and play games with her friends like it was just any other day, but it could also be attributed to the naivety of childhood. Dorothy smiled and grabbed her keys and her purse before locking her front door.

They walked around the two blocks just like Liana had planned to do herself, but now the cool night air was filled with gossip and chatter and occasionally Nellie-Rose's loud giggles. Eventually, Nellie-Rose got tired of being carried and settled to walk in between the two girls, holding one of their hands.

"So why'd Alfred and Matthew kick ya'll out tonight?" Dorothy asked once they had gotten back to her house and had put Nellie-Rose to bed. They were now sipping tea while in her livingroom.

"Not really sure, maybe they just had another wave of memories. They always handle those pretty badly."

Dorothy nodded and sipped her tea, "Why I thank the Lord every day for Travis' condition." Travis was Dorothy's boyfriend, who had escaped the draft for the previous war thanks to a nasty case of asthma he had had since he was a child. Liana momentarily wondered what it be like if her brothers hadn't been in the war. Alfred would still take her out when it was sunny and teach her how to throw a baseball and Matthew would sit in the shade reading a book and smiling softly whenever Liana managed to pitch a ball Alfred couldn't catch. But now whenever the sun came out it was an excuse to get Liana out of the house because she should go enjoy the sunshine while it lasted. Dorothy saw Liana staring into her tea and quickly put a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry, sugar, I should have-"

"Don't worry about it, it's fine really." Liana waved her hand like it wasn't a big deal. But it was a big deal, really. The fact that she felt excluded from her own home stung a little more each time it was brought up by someone she knew. After the tea Liana walked home, her skirt swishing around her knees. She waved to the Scotsman on the second floor of a building, his cigarette glowing softly in the darkness and he nodded back at her.

Liana climbed up the staircase to her apartment and opened the door to see Matthew hunkered down with his hands knotted in his hair. Liana instantly dropped her purse and rushed to Matthew's side. "What's wrong! Are you alright?" Matthew said nothing, but the blue of his eyes were shaking as he pointed a twitching finger towards the radio. Liana followed it and listened.

" _-has claimed responsibility for the various attacks on the West coast that occurred recently today and has made an official declaration of war against the United States of America. Our pre-existing allies are expected to follow in supporting us in this fight and it is no doubt that the opposing side will have their own allegiances as well. As they have already begun advancing their troops, the draft will begin at the end of the first week of December. But we must remember to stay strong, God Bless America!"_


	2. Chapter 2

It was Tuesday of the first week in December when the radio broadcast spread a wave of terror across the world. No one could comprehend how just after the most bloody war in history, there was another one upon them. Liana was instantly almost as terrified of the prospect of her brothers as she was about the war. Out of impulse, Liana had instantly gotten rid of every drop of alcohol she could find in the house. Liana had wrapped Matthew up in a blanket and guided him to his room. She reassured him with as soothing words as she could think of. Saying that everything would be alright and rubbing his shoulders. She quickly cracked open the door to Alfred's room and thankful that he was asleep, she went back to comforting Matthew.

"It's alright, everything's alright." He didn't say anything, he just stared at a spot on the floor. Liana sighed in defeat and let her hands fall into her lap. She stared down at them like she had at Dorothy's and gasped in surprise when Matthew reached out his hand and interlaced their fingers.

"I'm scared." He whispered. "I'm so scared, I don't want to go back. I don't want to relive the things I've seen, I don't want to relive the guilt." Matthew had been a medical doctor during the previous war and blamed himself for a fair few deaths. He had grown to hate the sight of blood or even the mention of something as simple as getting a few stitches would make him leave the room.

"You won't have to."

Matthew tightened his grip on her hand, "Haven't I taught you that lying is wrong?" The sound of a nearby bedroom door violently slamming open made both of them look up in surprise. Alfred was awake. Liana let out a quiet breath before hugging Matthew one last time before heading out to face her violent brother.

When Alfred found out what had happened, he shouted, he swore, he threw things and punched a dent into the wall. His rampage lasted all of an intense twenty minutes where Liana could do nothing but sit on the couch and hope that nothing would hit her. She knew that she had passed the worst of it when his shouts turned more into sobs. Liana quickly stood up and walked over to Alfred, tentatively brushing her hand against his arm. Alfred instantly turned and wrapped her up in his arms and held her tightly. Tears quickly soaked Liana's left shoulder and she just stood there, being as strong as Alfred needed her to be.

"I can't," he managed to sputter out after several minutes of silent tears. "I can't go back. You don't understand what'll happen if I go back. Liana they can't make me go back! Tell me they can't make me go back!" He was shaking her by the shoulders now and Liana had to put all of her strength into pulling his hands away before he hurt her.

"I'm, so, so, sorry, Alfred." She said, tears glazing over her own vision, "but I can't give you false hope. You'll have to go back."

"No," Alfred sank to his knees and hung onto Liana's wrists as he cried into her layered skirt. "No, they can't! Not after all the hell that I've been through." Liana slowly sat down next to him and gave him a gentle hug.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Alfred let out a shaking breath, "You can tell me everything's going to be alright. That we'll all make it out of this okay and that we'll be able to be a family together again."

Liana slowly pulled away from Alfred and looked into their shared blue eyes, "Everything's going to be alright, we'll make it out of this okay and we're going to be able to be a family again." And Matthew's voice echoed in her mind. _Haven't I taught you that lying is wrong?_

The next days passed in a blur. Liana had no free time on her hands, she was rushing from brother to brother, comforting Matthew or trying to stop Alfred from smashing the last of their plates against the walls. The end of the week drew nearer and nearer, like a shadow was looming over the entire city. Boys who had been too young before and had just become of age were cursing their birthdates and men who had already been in the war were hardly seen outside their homes. Wednesday, then Thursday, then Friday. Friday night, Liana didn't make dinner, she didn't go to the grocery store, she didn't even leave the house. She spent that night curled up on the couch between her two brothers. They were all loosely tangled together but no one cared because it may be the last time they were all together like this. Matthew was brushing his fingers at the occasional tear that fell down Liana's cheeks and Alfred had seemed to finally get out the last of his rage, but was still tightly holding her hand and refusing to stop staring at the pile of books on the shelf.

They sat in silence, and Liana was too distracted by Alfred's cold stare. She knew she would regret asking, but she wanted to hear his voice as much as she could before he left.

"What are you thinking about?"

Alfred blinked out of his trance and looked at his little sister, "I'm thinking about what I ever could have done to deserve this. What Matthew could have done to deserve this. And I don't believe the conservatives down the road that say homosexuality is damning us both to hell. After all, they're going through it too." Matthew looked down at his shaking hands in a sort of shame. He had never been fully comfortable with his sexuality the way Alfred had been. No one spoke after that, no one knew what to say. Not in that moment. Not the next morning, only even when Alfred and Matthew left to catch the boat Liana hugged both of them with quick _I love you_ s and _be safe_ s. Liana was left alone in the apartment, and she turned around and saw truly just how much damage Alfred had done. Shattered glass covered the floor and the pictures on the walls had fallen to the floor, their frames splintering. Furniture was knocked on its side and as a whole the house looked like it had been hit by a hurricane.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the radio and fiddled with the dial until she settled on a song that had been released a few years ago. The lyrics played out into the apartment as she began to pick up the shards of glass.

 _Never wanted to_

 _What am I to do?_

 _I can't help it_

She couldn't help it, Liana thought as she picked up a chair and put it back in its place at the dining table. That sounded like a good excuse, even if there was a war going on, she couldn't do anything to stop it.


	3. Chapter 3

Liana was glued to the radio, listening to songs and every development that she could find and even some of the French morse codes for hours on end, even though she had no idea how to decrypt them, as well as the fact that she didn't speak French. It was December 9th when Alfred and Matthew left, then it was December 12th. The days just seemed to drag on like there was no stopping them, Liana wanted time to stop, that way her brothers might not get hurt, they might not be killed.

A knock at her front door made Liana blink her sky blue eyes as the world came back into focus. "Come in." She said meekly. Liana rarely made the effort to lock the door anymore, she didn't really care if someone were to come in or not.

Dorothy stuck her head in and smiled brightly at her, "Liana, good to see you out of your room."

"Hmm." Liana nodded, all the alcohol was still gone, not that Liana drank that much. She was a complete lightweight. But she still longed for the bitter taste on her tongue, the buzzing in her head that would make the constant worrying go away. She had nothing to do but play the violin, and that only seemed to bring the dark thought closer, but she did it anyway. She didn't want to walk around the town, so her entire mind was filled with only panic and distress, perhaps Alfred was onto something…

"We just came by to-" Dorothy said, opening the door further and stepping inside. Nellie-Rose bolted inside and jumped up and down in front of Liana.

"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" She shouted. Liana's eyes widened, that's impossible, there's no way it was Christmas already. The last time she had checked the calendar it was December 15th, Nellie-Rose was just being an overexcited child. Dorothy walked up behind her and smiled, holding out a bag for Liana to take. It was red and green and was tied at the top with silver ribbon, the whole thing shimmered.

"Merry Christmas, Liana." So it was Christmas. Liana looked to the calendar on the far wall displaying the landscapes of America and saw that it was indeed December 25th. Where had all the days gone? Liana couldn't remember a single one of them. She tried to play it cool and let out a slow breath.

She smiled weakly, "Thanks." Liana took the gift from Dorothy and put it on the table behind her.

Nellie-Rose spoke up, "I-I have a present for you too!" she looked at Dorothy who pulled out a small, rather clumsily wrapped gift the size of a paperweight. Liana took it and held it in her hands, which she realized were shaking. There was a beat of silence, "Aren't you going to open it? I picked it out just for you!" Nellie-Rose looked a little sad and Liana tightened her grip around the gift.

She swallowed, "Well… I have you to give you two my gifts too, don't I?" Liana slowly put down Nellie-Rose's present next to Dorothy's and walked into her room to pick up their presents. Luckily, Liana had planned out these two's Christmas presents since before the war started and had them ready since November. She handed them off and Dorothy smiled and Nellie-Rose jumped up and down and tried to look inside. Liana smiled too, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Now you open your presents!" Nellie-Rose demanded, but Dorothy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Actually, Nellie, I think Liana has some work she has to do. But how about we head back and see how far along Travis is with our Christmas Dinner." Nellie-Rose nodded and waved goodbye to Liana as the door shut behind them. She kept waving at the closed door for a few seconds before she turned back to the table. She felt like she shouldn't open them, but she knew Nellie-Rose would pester her about it if she didn't say anything.

Liana opened Dorothy's present first. It was a pair of earrings and a new pair of winter gloves. She smiled softly as she remembered complaining about her old ones weeks ago. Dorothy really did listen, and she did think every little move she made through. The earrings were small dangling blue gemstones. Liana doubted they were real as no one here had that much money to speak of but she didn't care, they were the exact same shade of blue as her eyes, and she put them on. Nellie-Rose's present looked to be a rather lumpy package wrapped in red paper and tied with a green ribbon. Liana had found a corresponding card for it in Dorothy's gift that she had yet to open. Liana pulled off the ribbon and the paper to find that it was something wrapped in newspaper. Liana was thankful that it was the comics and not the war reports that covered her holiday gift. Gently, she peeled the paper away to reveal a bracelet with three charms on it. A sun, a moon, and a star. Liana smiled at it softly as she marveled at the overall quality, Nellie-Rose must have told Dorothy what she wanted to do with the bracelet so they could have it done professionally. But when she turned the charms over she thought she might cry, on the back of each charm was written a name. Alfred was on the back of the sun, Matthew on the back of the moon, and Liana was on the other side of the star. Liana tried to steady her breathing as she opened the card and she laughed a little seeing Nellie-Rose's illegible handwriting, but Dorothy had transcribed the message below.

 _Merry Christmas, Liana!_

 _I wanted to get you something to help you think of your brothers because they're so far away. Alfred is the sun because he's bright and happy, and Matthew is the moon because he's quiet like the night time, and you're the star because that's what you're going to be one day! A big star just like my big sister! And you can be stars together!_

 _Merry Christmas!_

 _-Nellie-Rose_

Liana brushed the tears off of her cheeks as she put the bracelet on. The metal felt cool against her skin, but it was one of the most real feelings she'd had in a long time. She tried not to remember what she had seen sitting on her dresser when she had gotten Nellie-Rose and Dorothy's presents, two other presents, wrapped and taped each with a bow and a card, labeled Alfred and Matthew.

(*) (*) (*)

During the previous war where Alfred and Matthew had been away, it hadn't been so bad. They weren't gone for a long time and Liana had her Grandfather Davie to stay at home with her and make sure her spirits didn't get too low. Liana still went to school and Davie went to work. But now, Liana didn't have a job, she had lost it a few weeks before the war started and know her mind was too clouded to think of work, instead all that filled her head were ways to clear her mind, music, she had taken to gardening in the plant boxes on her balcony, but for the most part she didn't know where the time went. Her thoughts swirled around in her mind and consumed her with worry and distress. The money coming in from both Alfred and Matthew being in the army took care of some of the rent but there was still a significant chunk missing, those two army salaries could cover the cost of the apartment, but they didn't reach the food, water, electricity or other things Liana needed. So she soon found herself in on a rainy day in late February debating whether to knock on Dorothy's door for help or not. She knew it was impolite, she knew that Dorothy was barely making enough to get her own family by let alone adding another person, but at the same time Liana knew that Dorothy would welcome her in with open arms and give her a place to stay. It was just a matter of pride.

Liana's hand had been hovering over the wood for over seven minutes however before she had the chance to make any sort of decision, Dorothy opened the door and looked at her. "Liana?"

Liana's hand fell down to her side, "I need your help."

After Liana had finished explaining her situation, Dorothy had sat her down with her traditional cup of tea and had a hand on her knee. "Oh sugar, you should have told me sooner." Liana shook her head. "Well, I'm sorry but we can't help you."

"I understand. It's the money, isn't it?"

Dorothy nodded, "Partially, and another part of it is I know you're too proud for your own good and if we did help you you would never let it go for the rest of your life. So, I'll do as much as I can, but I think you'll want to figure this one out on your own."

"I'm just not used to it."

"No one is the first time, but," Dorothy put her tea down on the coffee table and smiled. "What are we to do? We can't help it." Liana recognized the words from the Marlene Dietrich song she heard on the radio nearly every day and wondered if Dorothy was quoting them on purpose or not.

"So there's nothing you can do?" Liana asked, her tea was cold and she felt as if she might cry.

"I can't do anything, but I know someone who might."

Dorothy had directed Liana to a casino on 15th street called The Golden Rose. Liana was skeptical about the idea of gambling her money back, seeing as she had so little to start with. The building itself was surprisingly black with red accents and not gold, but the lettering above the awning was. Liana pulled her red rain coat tighter around her shoulders as she crossed the street and walked into the casino. It was early in the evening so it was already full of people. There were blackjack and poker tables and slot machines and endless seas of people in varying states of intoxication. Liana felt very out of place as she took off her coat, revealing her short black dress. It was a lot fancier and showed more skin than Liana was used to but Dorothy had told her to dress nice and do her hair. Liana was supposed to go up to the reception and ask for the Italian. Once she got in she was going to explain her situation and that Dorothy sent her. Whoever this Italian was he owed Dorothy a favor. Liana absentmindedly picked at her hair which she had curled into ringlets and pinned to her head. She felt too many pairs of eyes on her as she walked through the casino and approached an employee in a quiet corner wearing a black vest and a golden bow tie.

"Excuse me," Liana said and the man turned to look at her. He was around Alfred and Matthew's age, just lucky he hadn't been drafted.

"Yeah?"

"I'm here to see the Italian."

He looked her up and down, eyes lingering on the length of her dress and her hair and shoes. "Sheesh," he said, lightning a cigarette and puffing on it, "he keeps 'em coming. We're gonna have to put a limit on him one of these days."

"I'm sorry?" Liana asked, leaning forward a bit.

"Nothing, just follow me." He said and led Liana through the crowd to a small side door with a golden rose on it. He opened it to reveal a simple room that looked like the waiting room to an office with black leather chairs to sit and wait in. "Wait here, he'll come get you when he's ready." Liana just nodded and he closed the door.

The sound of the crowd was muffled and Liana felt suddenly very awkward. She hung up her rain coat on a coat stand and sat down in one of the chairs and ran her thumbs over her hands. Pausing to caress the charm bracelet she wore every day. She heard voices from within the next room. One was loud and cheerful, laughing loudly. The other less so, but every so often this other man laughed as well, it was a calm and lilting sound. After a few minutes of chatter, the door to the office opened and a man stepped out. He was tall and had dark auburn hair and brown eyes that were almost red. He turned up the collar of his long black raincoat and took only one glance at Liana before looking back into the room. "You're getting off with a warning this time, Vargas. But next time I don't want you hanging around my girl."

"Of course, of course," the loud voice said. It was cheery with an Italian accent. "It was my fault completely. Angel, you know I would never touch her."

"You better not." Angel said before he left the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

Apprehensively, Liana stood up and the Italian walked into the waiting room. He was a very handsome man with ginger auburn hair and light green eyes. His bangs were hanging in his eyes and a strand of them were bent upward in an angular curl. He stared at the closed door until Liana cleared her throat. His eyes suddenly darted towards her and he smiled charmingly.

"Oh, ciao bella! I'm sorry I didn't see you there." He strode over to Liana and kissed both of her cheeks. Liana squirmed a bit but figured, he's Italian, this was totally normal. "I'm sorry for the holdup, but now that we're alone, Eloise." The Italian leaned forward in an attempt to kiss Liana but she quickly stepped back.

"Woah, what?"

He quickly recovered and ran a hand through his hair. "Haha, sorry, sorry, my mistake. Lorraine, right?"

Liana stared at him in utter confusion, "Um, no?"

"Jess? Marybeth? Julianna!" Liana just continued to stare. He threw up his hands in defeat. "Then just tell me your name, so we can cut to the chase and-"

"I've never met you before." Liana interrupted.

The Italian slowly looked her up and down, "Are you sure?" Liana nodded. "Well then, would you like to get to know each other?" He said, raising his eyebrows and taking a step closer, "Have a drink, maybe a little fun? My name is Romeo Vargas and-"

"Listen pal," Liana sidestepped away from him and put her hands on her hips, "here's the deal. I'm broke."

Romeo raised his eyebrows and seemed to understand. "Sorry, bellissima, but I don't do cash."

Liana quickly held up her hands, "No, no, no, not like that. Dorothy sent me, she said you could help me out."

"Ah, Dorotea! Why didn't you say so?! Come in, come in." Romeo walked into his office and Liana followed tentatively behind him.

The office was decorated in golds and light browns and Romeo sat himself in a red leather chair behind the desk and Liana sat in one of two far simpler ones on the other side. "So," Romeo said, "Dorothy's friend, why have you come to see me?"

Liana stared at him, he really was an interesting character. "I told you I was broke."

Romeo snapped his fingers, "Ah, so you did. And how do you want me to help with that?"  
"My two brothers were both drafted at the beginning of December and I've been on my own since then. I can't get any work and I won't be able to pay rent by the time March rolls around. I just need help."

Romeo's expression softened and he looked at a picture on the wall behind Liana's head. She quickly turned to follow his gaze. She saw Romeo in front of a beautiful countryside with fields of golden grass. There were two other figures in the photo, and they both looked similar. The youngest looked like Romeo but with light brown hair and amber eyes and was smiling widely with his eyes closed. Then there was Romeo in the middle and to his left was the tallest. He had dark brown hair and hazel eyes with a curl, but on the opposite side of his head and he was scowling at the camera.

"I have two brothers as well." Romeo said. "And if they were forced into this war I would be desperate too."

"If you don't mind me asking, but do they live close by?"

Romeo laughed quietly, "I wish they did. But they are back in Italy, and I can only hope that they are safe. You see, the first thing you're going to learn about me is I'm a lot more trouble than I'm worth. Got into a bad spot in Italy so I fled to America, and here I am." Liana blinked and wanted to give him some comforting words but Romeo's smiling face was back again. "Here I am to help you! Tell me, bella, what's your name? And don't worry, you'll only have to tell me once, because I'll never forget it."

Liana was skeptical, but she answered. "Liana."

"Liana, ah a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Now, Liana normally I would just give you a bit of money and send you on your merry way but I think I need to provide you with a more… long term solution."

Liana raised an eyebrow, "And what is that exactly?"

Romeo smirked, "I'm going to teach you how to gamble."


	4. Chapter 4

Liana had never naturally been the best at cards, and it didn't help her self esteem that Romeo was the best card player she'd ever encountered. Game after game, Liana lost more and more money, hypothetical money of course, and she couldn't blame Romeo because she was the dealer every round. After about the fourth or fifth game Liana threw her cards down, "This is ridiculous."

Romeo simply glanced up at her and smiled, "It's not really, I'm just very very good, and you're… not." Liana gave him a pleading look and Romeo sighed in defeat, laying down his own cards and clasping his hands together on top of the desk. "There are a few reasons why I'm winning, the first being your lack of skill, the second pure luck, and the third is the mirror behind you." Liana opened her mouth in surprise and turned around to find that indeed there was a mirror hanging on the wall behind her that gave a full view of her cards. "First rule," Romeo said, "pay close attention to your surroundings."

After a few weeks of going to The Golden Rose on a daily basis to meet with Romeo. Liana fully understood why the circumstances of their first meeting were the way they were. Romeo would have pretty women in and out of his office all day. Grinning at them and winking, smiling and chatting. They all dressed similar to the way Liana did when she first arrived, no wonder the staff kept complaining. However over time Liana grew to recognize a few of the women. There was Eloise, who Romeo had mistaken her for but really looked nothing like her, the first major difference being she was blonde. Camille, Emily, and a few others around the same times every day. But as soon as Liana walked into Romeo's office, it was straight to work. She learned how to easily recognize people's tells and learn exactly when to fold without loosing too much. But she learned just as much about poker and blackjack and how to win as she did about Romeo. He was one of the most charming people she had ever met, but she constantly denied his advances, it wouldn't be good with her to be with such a playboy. Liana pondered over what it would be like to be with Romeo, doing rather unsavory things on that desk instead of playing cards. But then, again, playing cards could also be seen as doing just that. Cards could be two people, interlocked, battling it out, desperate not to reveal their true intentions.

Liana also found herself less and less distressed as every week passed. After Romeo found out that Liana didn't have a job, he offered her one at The Golden Rose as a waitress.

"Wait… so you're the owner?" Romeo nodded and grinned. Liana then felt stupid for not realizing it sooner, just one look around the main hall and it was littered with traces of Romeo's signature style which was prominent in his office. Liana accepted the job, slowly making enough money back to pay her bills and then some extra. And her mind became less clouded by the thoughts of her brothers dying, and she began to play happier songs on the violin, even working up the courage to go into Alfred's room and strum out a few songs on his guitar. Her brothers were still always present in her mind, but there was also a sort of light hearted joy that came along with it. Music was something she could do to take up her time when she wasn't at the Golden Rose, where she grew to know all the staff and even some of the regular patrons of the casino.

(*) (*) (*)

She waved goodbye to Romeo as the door to his office closed behind her. Liana sighed and tucked a raven black curl behind her ear. She had lost again, it wasn't that surprising, but it was getting rather tiresome to go every single day only to have your self-confidence torn down with his devilish smirk and the laying down of his cards, winning over and over. It was taking longer for Liana to lose, gaining small skills here and there and even being able to win some money in the actual casino, but Romeo was the King of the Golden Rose, and it would take a lot longer to beat the King at his own game.

The wind blew her hair out of her face, such are the winds of late May. But today's were strangely more powerful than normal, much more powerful. Liana's pins flew out of her hair and her skirts billowed around her. She looked up in between the skyscrapers to see a formation of planes flying overhead. Liana smiled softly through the intense wind. Whenever she saw planes she thought of Alfred. He was a fighter pilot in the previous war, and Liana only assumed he was one in the current fight as well. But now when Liana looked up at these planes she furrowed her brow as she saw their designs. Alfred had always loved planes, it was one of the reasons he became a fighter pilot. He knew all the different models used by different countries and taught them to Liana and Matthew. So as Liana continued to stare up into the sky her hope dropped onto the pavement in the street as the realization dawned on her. The planes had long wingspans but what made Liana shake were the two stars painted on either side; she knew these planes. She remembered Alfred showing pictures of them to her, _Ilyushin Il-2s_ , they were Soviet Bombers. There were Soviet planes flying over New York. Liana quickly looked around to see other pedestrians staring at the sky, some of them beginning to shout or point. But Liana was just frozen in fear. The war had always seemed so far away. It was overseas, it couldn't get to them to her home, to her apartment and to Dorothy and to the Golden Rose and to Romeo or Nellie-Rose. This was supposed to be her safe haven. And now it was being threatened before her very eyes. Something fell off of the bottom of one of the enemy planes and the panic started.

People screamed and ran as the bombs crashed to Earth. Liana was frozen on the spot, refusing to move, to think, to blink. But when the first one hit the street and exploded, sending chunks of brownstone flying everywhere and the echoing sound rang in her ears accompanied by endless screams of pain. Some ran into buildings as the bombs continued to drop. Others sought shelter in the subway systems underground. And yet others still rushed to their loved ones and cried over their corpses. This was real pain, this was real catastrophe, this was real warfare. Someone ran up behind Liana and tugged harshly on her arm, yanking her backward. A cold jolt rushed up Liana's arm and into her brain, snapping it back to reality. She turned to look at who was pulling her towards the subway and saw Romeo, his eyes wide with fear and rubble in his ginger hair. He turned and shouted something at her but Liana couldn't hear him. The noise was too loud, it was too much. All she could hear were planes and wind and explosions and screams.

Romeo tugged Liana down the flight of stairs underground as a bomb exploded near them above ground and they were thrown forward. Liana skid on the cement in the subway and tore her dress, but she was pulled to her feet and made to move forward once again. They made twists and turns through the underground maze. Liana didn't know where she was anymore, everything was spinning, everything was wrong, and Liana didn't know how to make it right.

She was suddenly tugged to the floor after a particularly loud explosion that made chunks of rock fall from the ceiling above them. Romeo pulled them both to the floor and moved both himself and Liana to lean against the wall. As more of the ceiling collapsed Romeo pulled Liana into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. The explosions kept coming, one after another. They shook the very earth and made Liana contemplate her own death for the first time in a long time. What if she died? Right here, right now, it was perfectly plausible. A bomb could detonate right on top of them and Liana would be buried in rubble and forgotten, just like that. How would Alfred and Matthew find out? Would they have to come home only to find no one there? Who would tell them of her death?

But those thoughts slowly drifted away as did the continuous sound of explosions as the Soviets dropped their last bombs and fled back to their country. Liana slowly moved her hands away from her face, and when she looked at them she realized they had blood on them. She had scraped them when she had fallen at the beginning of the tunnel and handy even registered the pain until now. Then, slowly, all of her feeling came back. The cold of the cement, the sting of the cuts, the torn fabric of her dress on her bruised legs. And the warm feeling of Romeo's arms around her and her back pressing into his chest. Liana reached her hand back to tap him on the head as his face was buried into the crook of her neck.

"Romeo?" Her voice was smooth and calm, too much so considering the events that had just occurred, "It's over, it's okay, we're alive." Romeo made a noise that meant he had heard her and that he understood her but he didn't make any move to pull away. Liana looked around the area they were in. It was one of the subway lines, she knew that for sure but she was unsure which one it was. Large chunks of the cement ceiling had fallen down a little too close for comfort during the attack and Liana shivered. There were other people around them, cowering against the walls just as Liana and Romeo were. Tears stained their faces and there was a bit of blood on everyone. Liana didn't know how to handle this situation. Was this the sort of thing that her brothers would remember? No, this was only the beginning, what they had seen, what they were seeing at this very moment, was 10 times worse than what Liana had just been through. Liana didn't know how long they cowered in the subway station for. It seemed like hours, days, months, years. Eventually she grew exhausted from all of the running and screaming and the last of the adrenaline in her veins faded away, but she was still too shaken to even think about doing anything other than staring a hole into the wall opposite her.

Liana was brought back to her senses by the movement of Romeo. He was standing up; groggy, Liana tried to follow his lead. She blinked to see a few policemen helping the surrounding people to their feet. The one helping them had dark hair and a comforting smile. Liana took his hand and was helped to her feet. He asked Romeo a few questions that Liana couldn't bother to made out before Romeo nodded at the police officer and turned back to Liana. Wordless, he took her hand and began to lead her out of the subway. When they reached the surface, Liana gasped, the destruction was everywhere. Buildings were half gone, cars were turned over, and Liana choked on her breath as she saw the smoldering remains of a plane in the middle of the street. She looked closer and thought she saw the faint outline of a body before she turned away to look back at Romeo, who was staring at the Golden Rose. Or moreover, where the Golden Rose once was.

The building was entirely engulfed in flames and people were still screaming and fleeing from it. The entire left side had been blown to bits and the rest of the once glorious casino looked like it was barely standing and the flames edged closer and closer by the second to claiming the structure as its own. Romeo suddenly got his bearings and ran into the burning building.

"Romeo!" Liana called out, her voice hoarse from all of the smoke as she chased after him. She dodged falling wooden beams and jumped over broken slot machines and shattered rum bottles. Liana quickly deduced the route Romeo was taking. He was running to his office. Liana wanted to stop him, before he did something even stupider than this, before the whole building collapsed, but he was faster than her. Romeo burst into his office and ran to the far wall. Sheer panic crossed his face before he looked to the ground and sighed with relief. He bent down and picked up the picture that had been hanging on the wall before running out of the room. Romeo crashed into Liana in the waiting room.

"Liana!? What the hell are you doing in here?"

Liana bent over, catching her breath, "Trying to stop you from dying." Romeo looked at her in utter disbelief before rolling his eyes, grabbing her hand and running out of the Golden Rose. They stopped in the street, both choking on smoke. Liana looked up to see the last half of the Golden Rose crumble under its own weight and heat of the flames. She looked at Romeo, who looked angry. Liana had never seen Romeo angry, and it was an intimidating sight. His hand clenched around the picture frame and his eyes narrowed. His curl seemed more angular than usual and he spat on the pavement. "Damn." His voice was low and gruff and Liana took a small step back.

Luckily, the Soviet attack hadn't damaged Liana's neighborhood, not directly anyway. The air was still filled with smoke and aging blood stained the street. Dorothy refused to explain to Nellie-Rose exactly what had happened, only that she wasn't allowed to leave the house. Liana again would pick up the violin. She played to drown out the sadness and the screams, the grief and the inhuman nature of the entire event. How could any, self respecting person, regardless if they were German or Russian or American or Italian, knowingly kill so many people like that? Then again, Liana thought back to the plane she saw outside the subway. Someone had shot it down, knowingly killed that person. And Liana stopped playing because she was suddenly very confused as to who the heroes of the war were. The Koreans had attacked the coast of California as a declaration of war, so they killed first. But the Americans retaliated with the British, the Danish, they were acting out of revenge or self defense, but they were still killing people. People who were just following orders, willingly or not.


	5. Chapter 5

After the bombings, things changed. The city became quieter, as quiet as New York could be. It was rare to see people in the subways as they were being repaired and many of the shops were closed. Now, every once in awhile, an alarm would sound. It was three short blaring sounds that pierced Liana's ears every time they rang through the streets, which was more and more often. It was a warning, a signal that another bombing might be coming. Everyone was required to get into a building right away and wait in the lowest floor until the second alarm sounded, this time four cries, signaling the threat had passed. Liana knew some of them were just drills, but the problem was she didn't know how many? Was it only one or two? Was there really a threat so close to home that she had to hide inside almost twice a week for hours on end? She didn't want to believe it because it would make everything all the more real. The bombing had seemed like a nightmare, a terrible, life changing nightmare, but still a nightmare. The buildings were still rubble, and the streets still bleak, but Liana didn't see much of that because she rarely left her apartment.

She played the violin, all day, every day. Vivaldi, Bach, and original compositions were almost constantly flowing out of Liana's open window so everyone in the building could hear. It took a few days to reestablish her meetings with Romeo, and since he lived in the shady part of town Romeo would come to her, now often making a habit of bringing some food along with him because he knew that Liana wouldn't leave the house. And so life went on, as much as it could, anyway. Liana grew better and better at poker and the instruments strewn about her house, but she hadn't seen Dorothy in weeks, and she felt terrible about it but… she didn't really mind. This was her life now, music and poker and hiding out in her home and blaring alarms and watching people run into the nearest structure out of fright. One of the few things that Liana would leave the house to do is to buy cigarettes. She knew Alfred and Matthew would have been ashamed of her, as she blew cloud after cloud of grey smoke into the night air. Occasionally she would join the Scotsman on the second floor when she saw the light of his cigar in the dark. They would never say anything to one another, just lend a match when needed and soak up the silence of the other's company.

The radio was another saving grace for Liana. If you could exactly call it a "saving" grace, more often than not it was a curse. She listened to the broadcast speaking of every update about the war, monitoring the fronts her brothers were on like a hawk. Around the beginning of April, she had received their last letters. Liana didn't hear much from her brothers. In fact she had only received a few letters from each of them before their last one told of them being forbidden to right home since the attack on Stockholm They both explained to her that they were being forbidden to write home in fear of a possible leak, and they couldn't spare the resources to check them all, so the easier solution was just to forbid the practice. But then it happened.

It was one day in early July, Liana had been listening to the radio in the morning as she was making breakfast, and just as she finished humming along to the tune of Falling In Love Again by Marlene Dietrich, the music was interrupted by a radio broadcast. It described the current state of the war which had been raging on overseas for almost 7 months now, but the mention of a familiar area made Liana set down her sheet music. " _Denmark received a devastating blow this morning to their amy hospital near the front with Germany. It killed hundreds of wounded soldiers and doctors alike. The list of the deceased is soon to follow and condolence letters will be sent to these honorable men's home within two to three weeks. But we must remember to stay strong, God Bless America!_ " Liana dropped her pencil and it clattered to the floor. Denmark. That's where Matthew was sent. Her brother was at the scene of an enemy bombing, and Liana couldn't do anything about it. She knotted her fingers in her hair and pressed her elbows into the breakfast bar. This couldn't be happening, and yet it still was. It was like another nightmare, it was happening overseas, and Liana wouldn't hear the wounded screams or see the destruction, but it still stung.

Liana didn't know how long she spaced out for, but she was awoken by a frantic knock on her door. Hesitantly, she got up from her seat to open the door, only to have Dorothy throw herself into Liana's arms. "Oh my Lord!" She said, pulling away to inspect Liana's face not unlike a concerned parent. "I heard what happened on the radio. Are you alright, sugar?" Liana didn't respond. For some reason she didn't want Dorothy around, she seemed to genuine, too happy, too perfect. Liana knew these reasons were ridiculous, but she couldn't help but feel worse with her friend unconsciously shoving her perfect life in her face.

"I'm fine." Liana said, pulling away and facing the breakfast table. "But I want to be alone right now, sorry Dorothy." Dorothy expression shifted to sadness and she lingered in the apartment's entrance.

"Nellie-Rose misses you, you know. Keeps asking after you at home."

"What do you tell her?" Liana said, her voice was emotionless as she stared at a spot on the wall.

Dorothy was silent for a while, "I tell her that you're thinking, thinking of ways to help your brothers and help the world."

Liana set out a dry laugh, "Ah to be ignorant." There was another long silence where Liana didn't hear the door closing. "I said I wanted to be alone, Dorothy." Her voice was harsh and commanding, with no kindness or empathy. Liana flinched inwardly about it; she sounded like an army general. The door closed and Liana was left alone, just like she said she wanted to be. But she had lied, she didn't want to be alone right now, and she knew just who she wanted to talk to.

The general location of Romeo's house was common knowledge if you had been one of his guests at The Golden Rose, when there was still a Golden Rose. It was a shady part of town that you didn't go into unless you had direct business, and no one ever went alone. But that's what Liana was doing. She had thrown on the same short black dress she had worn the first day in the casino and wore bright red lipstick. Normally this fashion choice would be garish, but here she fit right in. Liana walked by dark alleys and sped up a bit every time a man on his smoke break would eye her up. Eventually she saw an alleyway with the soft glow of a streetlight seeping out of it and onto the main road. She sped up her walking pace and turned the corner to find the rowdiest game of poker she had ever seen.

It was a match between two men, and each had a team of five or six other people behind them yelling or cheering for them. They all seemed to be completely drunk and there was still more alcohol strewn around the alley and Liana was sure there was still much more. Someone from one team broke a beer bottle on top of a member of the other side's head, which then promptly started a fist fight. However, the two players seemed not to notice. The poker table was no more than a piece of plywood on some garbage cans, but it looked like the had managed to get chairs for the players to sit in. The poker chips were beaten and scratched, their colors fading as a new stack was pushed into the middle by Romeo. He leaned back, a triumphant grin resting steadily on his lips. Liana had seen the Italian play poker a hundred times before, he was always too confident, too cocky, but that didn't matter because he won every time. His opponent chewed on the end of a cigarette before spitting it out into the dirt of the alleyway.

" _Va bene_ ," he said gruffly, speaking in Italian, " _Mostra le carte_." He lay his own cards spread out on the plywood and Romeo did the same. Romeo's supporters erupted with cheers and shouts, pointing teasingly at the other side. Romeo smirked and leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the plywood.

" _Mi dispiace il mio amico, forse la prossima volta._ " Liana held back a snicker but stopped when the other card player rose out of their seat angrily. Romeo didn't look too concerned as the large man stalked towards him. Liana but her lip in concern, this man was a lot taller than Romeo, but more strongly built too. Romeo was slim and toned with muscle while this man had it packed on by the pound. Romeo kept his cocky expression however until the man kicked the base of the table and it and the cards were sent flying into the side of a nearby building.

" _Hai barato_!" Romeo quickly sprung to his feet, narrowly missing being hit by the table. He turned around only to dodge a punch thrown at him by his opponent.

Liana cried out from impulse, "Romeo!"

The Italian turned to look at her, "Liana?" And was knocked out cold.

(*) (*) (*)

When Romeo came too his jaw hurt like hell and his first instinct was to dodge the hit he last remembered being thrown at him. But what his eyes saw he could not believe, it was the ceiling of his own bedroom. Romeo sat up and looked around to see that, yes, he was in his own apartment. He sat and up looked out to his doorway only to see Liana entering with a wet cloth in her hand.

"You're awake, finally!"

Romeo blinked in confusion, "Wait… what?... what are you doing here? What am I doing here?"

"Calm down." Liana said, moving Romeo into a sitting position and having him hold the cloth against his forehead. "You just got knocked out at your poker game, I brought you home, that's all."

Romeo removed the cloth from his forehead and held it in his hands, he suddenly looked up in a panic. "But did you get my money?"

Liana nodded, "Yes, every last penny…it took a while to convince them that it was fair play but, you have quite a devoted fan base." He smiled. She trailed off and looked at the floor. "Romeo… what were you doing gambling $200 like that?"

"What do you mean?" Romeo asked casually. "It's what I do."

Liana still looked worried, "But I mean in that setting, with those people… It's dangerous! Even for you!"

Romeo opened his mouth to come up with an excuse but said nothing. He then looked confused again. "Hold on a second… how did you get me all the way back to my apartment from the poker game?"

Liana blinked, "I carried you."

"What?! It's a 15 minute walk from there without carrying someone on your back!"

Liana shrugged, "It's not like it was very difficult, you are pretty light." Romeo looked offended. "Okay fine, you're average." Still offended, "You're heavy?" The expression was even worse and Liana threw up her hands in defeat. "Fine! What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say how you knew where my apartment was."

"Margherita told me."

"Margherita?" Romeo looked skeptical. "But she only speaks…"

"Hey, don't assume things. I can understand enough Italian to know basic directions." There was silence for a moment. "It was taught to me by… by my brothers." More silence, until Romeo broke it with a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about what's happening to them, Liana. I really am, I know that-" He was cut off by the sudden blaring of an alarm coming from outside.

"A bomb!" Liana said, looking frightened. Romeo got out of bed and walked over to his window and looked out of it. He saw everyone running into the closest building as fast as they could. He licked his finger and stuck it out into the night air. A few seconds later he brought it back inside and shook his head.

"There's no wind, it's just a drill tonight."

Liana and Romeo had decided to sit on the wire fire escape outside of Romeo's apartment as no one was going to be on it during the bomb drill. Liana's legs dangled over the edge and hung the four stories in between the fire escape and the pavement below. She stared up at the sky but could only see one or two stars poking out from behind the clouds and the skyscrapers. She sighed and her breath was shaking. Romeo looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just…" Liana shook her head. "Just nervous."

"Worried that this might actually be real? We would be able to feel the wind if it was."

"I know, I know… but the thought of death is never that far away these days. Whether it's myself own or someone I care about."

"Yes but that's what war does, you see. And we all have to get used to it because it's the world we live in." Although they were having a conversation, both Liana and Romeo refused to meet the other's gaze and simply stared out into the night.

"What if…" Liana looked down at the empty street. "What if we were to die, right here, right now. What would happen? The world would maybe mourn us for a few days, maybe even weeks if we have some devoted friends, but the world would keep on turning, because it has to. But I don't think some people understand, just how important they are to others, that if they were to die, their world would stop turning because it isn't the same without them."

Romeo gave the city a sad smile. "Ah, yes, but you see, that's what true love is."

"True love?" Liana raised a skeptical eyebrow, "I don't really believe in that kind of thing."

"But you do." Romeo said, looking at Liana. "You just said it." She turned to meet his gaze as Romeo quoted her own words, " _I don't think some people understand, how important they are to others, that if they were to die, their world would stop turning because it isn't the same without them._ That, right there, is true love." Liana seemed to contemplate this quietly. "You can have more than one love, you know. People who it would feel like the world was collapsing if they were gone. You would struggle for a long time after they left, but you would still breathe, still eat, still sleep. You love your brothers, and they are inches away from death every single day, but you still play music, you still eat and breathe and sleep and talk to me, and practice poker I hope. You love them, but it is not the same as that desire that you have for your other half. Some people may never find them, and it can be fine that way, because you can be vulnerable for your whole world to stop and some don't like the risk so they'll turn it away… but after they do…" Romeo looked back up at the sky as if he was remembering something. "They just end up being more distraught and lonely than ever before."

Liana looked at him and sensed he had a story. "Did you know someone who that happened to or… did it happen to you?"

Romeo sighed, "My older brother, Lovino. Before I go any further, I have to tell you that both of my brothers are interested in men rather than women."

Liana smiled, "Don't worry, I'm accepting, my older brothers do too."

Romeo seemed more comfortable at Liana's words. "Well, my older brother, Lovino, was never the brightest or cheeriest of people. Always shutting others out and shooting them down before a stable friendship could take place, so he never had many friends. He seemed content to be alone forever because he hated the rest of the world… Until he met Antonio."

"Antonio?"

"Yes, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, that Spaniard changed my brother's life forever. He was persistent, stubborn, and the most optimistic person I've ever known. Antonio swept Lovino off of his feet and Lovino was letting him. It was the happiest I had ever seen my brother and my family and I were all happy for him, despite not everyone agreeing with the gender he preferred. It was always constant flirting or kissing, no matter who was in the room with them, stolen touches and glances but then… one night Antonio did something Lovino wasn't ready for."

"What was that?"

"He told my brother that he was in love with him and… Lovino wasn't ready for that level of commitment yet and I am unsure if he is now. But I know my brother loves that man, I would bet all my money on it, and I am not one to make foolish bets. But he turned Antonio away, fearing having such a dependance on someone. However Antonio, being Antonio, promised that he would never love another and he would wait for Lovino every day if one day he could love him in return, and then he went back to Spain. And even just one day after he was gone Lovino broke into pieces. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he barely spoke, his world had stopped turning, things he used to love held no interest anymore. He stopped playing football and let his garden overgrow with weeds. We were all worried about him." Romeo was silent for a long time after that.

"So what happened then?"

"I don't know, I had to flee Italy four years ago, and when I did Lovino was still broken."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Romeo sighed before he turned to look into Liana's face, her pale blue eyes shining with innocence. He ground his teeth before deciding to speak, "Because Liana, in these past few months I've gotten to know you, and I know what you will do next, even if you don't know it yourself, and I've given up on the idea of trying to stop you from it, no matter how dangerous it may be."

"And what exactly is that?"

"You're going to join the army, not as a nurse, but as a soldier."

Liana actually laughed out loud, "Don't be ridiculous, Romeo. I can't do anything."

"Yes you can." he said the words as if they were undeniable fact.

"What?" Liana looked at him in disbelief and Romeo refused to meet her gaze.

Romeo continued to stare out at the street, once bustling with cars and people was now vacant since the alarm had sounded. He took a deep breath before he spoke with confidence.

"You can do something. Who says you can't? Not your brothers, not this town, not me, not your friends, in fact, the only person who is saying that you can't, is you. So get up, Liana, get up and prove that you can do something, you can take action against this war. You can take steps in order to see your brothers again. You want to make a difference and you can. Liana, you are one of the most capable women I have ever met. You're smart and spunky and quick witted and can excel at anything you put your mind to. So stop wasting that talent, don't throw it away. Run for it, chase it, hunt it down with your relentless and resilient spirit and I know you will catch it. Because nothing can run faster than you, Liana. Nothing can be as determined, or as passionate about something they desire so deeply. So stop wasting your time wallowing in self pity and go get it!"


	6. Chapter 6

Liana looked around the apartment, biting her lip. She quickly let out a huff and crossed her arms over her chest, this was it, she had made the decision and it was final. Gently, she took her keys out of her dress pocket and closed her front door behind her. She was biting her lip so hard that Liana felt the iron taste of blood on her tongue as she heard the lock clunk into place. She pulled the key out of the lock with a determined yank and bent down to pick up her tiny suitcase.

"What are you doing, sugar?" Liana's eyes widened and she turned around. Dorothy had on her blue and white checkered dress: she had been at church that morning. She looked at the suitcase in Liana's hand and dropped the shopping bag she had held in her other hand.

Liana opened her mouth to speak but no full words came out. She just stood, jabbering. "Um, I was just- I- Really, I was just-"

"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" Before Liana had a chance to respond Dorothy's eyes welled with tears. "You're moving away! The pain just became too much for you, didn't it? Oh, I knew I should have been more attentive to you in times like this I just-"

"It's not that." Liana said, and Dorothy relaxed, "well, not exactly."

"What do you mean, _not exactly…_ "

"I'm going to go fight, in the war." Dorothy was silent for a long time. "Aren't you going to say anything?" Liana asked and Dorothy's expression was like stone.

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to lie and say that I think this is a good decision? That instead of just staying here and marrying a nice man and thanking the Lord that you avoided all that tragedy overseas, you are going to dive headfirst into it and get yourself killed? Fine, I'll say something. I'm disappointed in you,I thought you were smarter than this."

Liana felt like bursting into tears. The way Dorothy was looking at her was if she was doing something wrong, something so wrong it was almost common sense not to do that sort of thing. Liana had planned to leave quietly. Romeo knew of course because he was the one who told her and she had bid him goodbye the day before. But people like her neighbors, the baker down the street she bought bread from every morning, the old woman Liana often saw and chatted with at the library, people like Travis, Nellie-Rose, people like Dorothy weren't supposed to know. Liana knew the possibility she would be killed was high, extremely high. And yet she didn't care, she was determined to do something and to make some kind of difference from outside of the comfort of her own home. Her brothers were doing it against their wills, but she was doing this willingly, and she would die willingly, whether it be in 5 weeks, 5 years, or 5 decades, if it was for something she believed in, nothing was too high of a price.

Liana's breath was shaking through her lips, "I understand if you're upset that I wasn't planning on saying goodbye, but-"

"Today is Sunday," Dorothy said suddenly, "I go to Church every Sunday as you know very well. And let me tell you, it was more crowded today than I've ever seen it in my life. Full of people praying for their loved ones and their friends, and I did too. I prayed for Matthew and Alfred, and everyone else we know who went overseas, and I prayed that you would learn how to keep moving forward with your life and not be stuck in place by this war."

"It worked." Liana said simply.

"I'm just… frustrated that you would throw your life around like this."

"I understand…" Liana trailed off. "But Dorothy, this is what's important to me, to ensure that I know I did something for my country, that I contributed to the efforts. You know me well enough to know that I don't take being protected at the expense of others very well."

Dorothy sighed and nodded her head. "I know. I've known for a long time now, I just… hoped you might not realize it now when it's so dangerous everywhere we go." Dorothy paused before taking a deep breath. "I don't approve of the decision you're making, Liana. But this is what you think is right… and I have no reason to stop you." Dorothy stepped forward and hugged Liana tightly before whispering, "Stay safe." She stepped back and brushed invisible dust off of the sleeves of Liana's dress.

"I will be."

"You better." Dorothy said curtly. "But before you go," Dorothy reached down into her bag and pulled out a small light blue tin. "Just a small reminder of home should do you some good." Liana took it and looked down at the tea tin. It was the kind Dorothy always reserved for guests when they would show up on her doorstep seeking advice. Liana had sipped this kind of earl grey many times in the evenings as Dorothy soothed her various worries. She nodded towards Liana, and descended the stairs towards her own home.

"You want to do what?" The man looked up at her over his square glasses.

"I'd like to serve my country." Liana repeated. The man took his glasses off.

"I heard that part, it was the second part I didn't understand."

"Um, I…" Liana swallowed nervously, "I want to serve as a soldier."

"And what makes you think someone like you can just come in here and do whatever you want? There are men dying out there as we speak. I don't have time for this." He made a move to brush Liana aside but she placed her hand on the table.

"But the newspaper said you were accepting women for the new tactic." Liana's voice was desperate and the man's face steadied.  
He put his glasses back on and cleared his throat, organizing the paper on his desk. "The third door on the left on that hallway there." He refused to look up at her. "They'll give you all the information and paperwork you'll need in there. Now, move along, you're holding up my line." Liana smiled at him despite herself and pulled the creases out of her jacket before letting out a short breath and starting down the hallway, ignoring the looks of confusion she got from the men behind her in the line.

She opened the door the man had directed her to and found a bland looking waiting room. The walls were a drab beige color and the chairs seemed to only be a shade or two darker. There were only about four other people in the room and again Liana found herself the only woman present. She rolled her shoulders back, sat down in one of the chairs and waited. It seemed like she had waited for hours; Liana moved the charms on her bracelet back and forth as a way to pass the time, but there was no clock in the room so she was unsure how much time had actually passed before a woman in a military uniform entered the room with a clipboard and a pen.

"Afternoon, gentlemen." She clicked her pen loudly and looked up at them, scanning the room and sending Liana a tiny smile. "And lady. You're all here to enroll in the war, but not in the same way as your comrades. Most likely, you will have a completely different role than the person sitting next to you. And I'm sorry if you enrolled here with a friend, because you won't see them anywhere in your program. When this tactic was devised, it was made to be most successful when every member of every team has varying nationalities, ethnicities and or genders. So, here are your applicant forms, fill them out within the next 10 minutes." The woman handed out the application forms. Liana took hers and instantly started filling it out, checking boxes and writing lists of past experience. However it wasn't the kind of past experience she would have expected the army to want to know about. There were questions about what languages you spoke and your education in the past. The form asked you to list your hobbies and the list of countries you've been to in the past. Liana was a bit puzzled, but filled out each question without looking too closely.

Except for the time Matthew had taken Liana on the Staten Island Ferry, she had never been on a boat before she was shipped off to England. She had never experienced the rough seas and sounds of the war happening at sea. Most of her trip was spent shut up in her tiny cabin, trying to reassure herself that was going to England to help, that she was there to do something and not stay back home. When the seas were calm, she would walk around the deck and stretch her legs, but she spoke to no one. The four days at sea passed slower than Liana would have liked, but she drank Dorothy's tea whenever she felt too stressed or emotional. The earl grey burned her lips but the faint taste on her tongue reminded her of home, and that was enough to get her through almost anything.

She followed the line of other applicants she remembered from the waiting room off the boat and onto the docs, then onto a train platform. She was wearing a patch on her chest that she had been given before she got on the boat and told to wear on the train platform. The patch was mostly red, but Liana discerned it to be some sort of flower. She was the only one who wore that patch. Liana watched the other recruits from New York wearing different patches were led onto various other trains. A few minutes past 2 in the afternoon, a small man with light brown hair and an accent Liana discerned to be from some slavic country.

He straightened himself before he glanced at her patch and smiled, "An Amaryllis cadet." He said, "That's good, they haven't gotten many recruits lately. Follow me." He turned around and boarded the train behind him, and Liana followed him quickly up the steps.

They rode in one of the back cars. Liana wasn't surprised; she hadn't really expected the army to blow money on the level of luxury when transporting new soldiers. The man who had come to get her she learned worked for the British Army, but only as a messenger/chaperone. His name was Raivis Galante and was only 17 years old, three years younger than Liana. He had gotten the job to help support himself and his younger brother. The train ride was only around 45 minutes, so it was over fairly soon and Raivis stood up and descended the steps off the train and Liana stepped out and coughed into her hand from the billowing smoke clouds coming from the train's engine. Raivis moved quickly through the mostly empty station, if one could even call it that. It was so small Liana thought of it more like a rest stop where people would stop on their way to see something bigger and better.

The training camp was spread out over a large flat area and was surrounded by forest that hadn't been cleared out. The buildings were made of dull red bricks and every one Liana passed looked the same. She walked by shooting ranges and obstacle courses where soldiers were running, jumping, and climbing over various obstacles. There were buildings in which people were drawing detailed maps of the area and working with compasses, and through another window Liana saw a group of soldiers studying different kinds of plant life. Just what kind of training camp was this? People were learning Italian in one room, and bench pressing weights in the next.

Raivis came to a stop in front of a plain looking door inside of one of the far buildings. The door looked like any other in the hallway accept a small name plate was nailed to the door, _Sergeant Basch Zwingli_. Raivis placed 3 prompt knocks on the door before a stern voice answered and told them to enter. The door creaked open and revealed a man with blonde hair the brushed against his shoulders and piercing green eyes. He wore a green military uniform and there was a rifle leaning against his desk. Sergeant Zwingli glanced up at Raivis.

"What is it, Galante?" Liana couldn't discern his accent, it was mainly German sounding, but there was also a touch of something else to it.

"New recruit, Sir." Raivis saluted respectfully.

Zwingli glanced Liana up and down and she instinctively corrected her posture. He grumbled, "We're being sent fewer and fewer these days, it's unbelieveable. I heard Tudor Rose gets at least 40 per day, but our numbers are dwindling…" He trailed off, staring at the papers on his desk before snapping his head back up. "So what have you brought her to me for?"

"Just to get your permission to room her with Héderváry, Sir."

Zwingli raised his eyebrows, "Really? She's been incompatible with nearly everyone."

"I am well aware of that, Sir. However I believe Miss Jones may be capable."

The Sergeant let out a heavy sigh before extending his hand. Raivis placed Liana's application in it and he put it in the corner of his desk. "She better be. Take her there and I'll brief the new recruits shortly after the rest of them have arrived." Raivis nodded, saluted, and ushered Liana out of the room, closing the door silently behind them.

"Who's Héderváry?" Liana asked as Raivis led her out of the building and towards the barracks.

Raivis just let out a pained sigh, "One of our more… unusual soldiers. She's been here nearly two weeks and has had over 4 different women request to move barracks, saying they can't continue living with her uncouth ways."

Liana held her wrists nervously, "Why do they say that?"

"Héderváry can be rather…" Raivis paused, searching for the right word, "eccentric." Liana furrowed her brows in concern. Hopefully this wouldn't be as awful as Raivis was making it sound. At this point Liana was sure she would have an imprint of the handle of her suitcase judging by how hard she was gripping it. Raivis came to a stop in front of a single door in the middle of a long hallway of doors. He stood to the side. "This is where we part ways, Miss Jones."

"Thank you, for everything." Liana said, shifting awkwardly back and forth on her feet.

"No problem," Raivis put a hand on her shoulder before he walked away. "Good luck." Liana eyed the door skeptically before she forced herself to reach forward and turn the knob, pulling it open with a creak.

The barracks were as simple as Liana expected them to be. There was a set of twin bunk beds in the corner, a window, something that looked like a bell attached to a wall in the corner, a table and chair, a set of shelves, and a mirror. Liana didn't see anyone in the room so she cautiously stepped forward towards the beds. The top bunk looked occupied, there was a set of nightclothes messily thrown on top of the neat sheets, so Liana put her tiny suitcase on the bottom bunk. Suddenly, the door swung open and hit the wall with a loud crack.

Liana jumped and turned around to see a woman standing in the entrance. She had waist length wavy brown hair and had a pink flower tucked behind one of her ears. She was wearing a long sleeve dark green military uniform and knee high brown boots. She panted heavily and didn't seem to notice Liana for the first few seconds, but when she did, her hazel eyes narrowed.  
"Who are you?" Her voice had a faint Hungarian accent. Liana opened her mouth and stuttered but no words came out. Héderváry spied the suitcase on Liana's bed and her eyes instantly lit up. "You're my new roommate!" She seemed to squeal with glee before rushing forward and shaking Liana's hand vigorously. "Nice to meet you, my name is Elizabeta Héderváry. And you are?" She leaned in close to Liana's face and smiled widely, almost too widely.

"Liana Jones."

"Oh, an American. Haven't had one of those in a while. Nope! Not in a long time!"

Liana paused, "I thought you've only been here two weeks."

"Ah, see I have, but I have intel." Elizabeta said, tapping her temple. "Intel, Liana. That is very important when you're someone like me."

Liana raised an eyebrow, "And what kind of person are you?"

"Nevermind all that, here." She shoved a pile of green fabric into Liana's arms. "Put this on, don't want you sticking out like a sore thumb, do we?"

A crooked smile found it's way to Liana's lips, "No, I guess not."

Liana quickly changed out of her simple blue dress and put on the uniform. It was a dark green color with several pockets attached onto the blazer and a skirt that fell to her knees.

Suddenly, the bell on their wall rang loudly. Elizabeta turned to face Liana and squealed again. "Time for the overview. You're new, right? Come on!" She dashed out of the room, Liana scrambling to keep up, not wanting to lose her guide.

Elizabeta slowed to a fast walk once she had entered the hallway and there were a few other soldiers coming out of their barracks. Some looking bored, other were obviously new recruits, judging by their wide eyes and aimless wandering. Elizabeta came to a stop in an open yard with a platform at the far end. The cadets were forming organized lines and standing still, waiting for events to play out. Liana was dragged over to one spot on the far left, even though the lines were forming from the right. Liana glanced over at Elizabeta and found she was standing straight as an arrow, as were the rest of the soldiers standing in line; Liana followed their lead.

"Why are we standing on the wrong side." Liana whispered out of the corner of her lips.

"Because," Elizabeta smiled, "I have a better view from here."

"A view of what?"

"Him." Elizabeta sighed dreamily as she looked at the man standing two rows in front of her, Liana studied him.

He was very handsome indeed. He had dark brown hair that stuck up a bit at the ends and a small piece that refused to stay down in the back. He turned to speak to the person next to him and Liana saw his lavender eyes and glasses. He looked very dignified and even a bit snobbish but Liana looked to Elizabeta who was still in a trance.

Liana smiled softly, "What's his name?"

"Roderich."

Liana opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the entrance of someone onto the raised platform in front of them. She looked up to see Sergeant Zwingli walking towards the center with the rifle Liana had seen in his office strapped across his back. He reached the center and stood still, looking out over the soldiers with a sort of distaste.

"Attention!" He shouted and everyone straightened up. "Most of you in the crowd below me are ignorant to the true task at hand and just how high the stakes are. So, I'll be the first to pull you out of the dark. You are now part of The Prisca Tactic, created by Cornel Rome Vargas just before the end of World War 2, however the war ended before it had the chance to be put to use. It is seemingly harmless but if done right is deadly efficient. We will send you out in hundreds of well camouflaged specially trained groups into secure enemy borders in an attempt to attack unguarded borders and weaken the enemy. This tactic has decreased our casualties by an astounding amount and eliminated the exposure you lucky ones would have had to the savagery that is trench warfare. These teams are made of up 5 soldiers each, and almost all of you will be from different countries. Using this international approach decreases suspicion if your group is caught, you are unlikely to be identified as a group of our soldiers. The five positions in a group are the Strength, the Linguist, the Arsenal, the Survivalist, and the Sniper. Each position requires it's own set of specialty training and skills. In this camp you will choose your position and be trained accordingly before you are sorted into your groups and sent out into the field. Your selection is required before lights out and is to be reported to your barrack master. Good luck!" Everyone in the crowd saluted in unison and Liana felt the blood rushing through her veins. This was it, she was going to go something and get some results.


	7. Chapter 7

"So,which do you think you'll choose?" Elizabeta swung her arms a bit as they walked back to their bunk.

"I'm not quite sure yet," Liana replied, "What does each position do exactly?"

"Well, the Linguist learns the languages of the area they get sent to, by the end of training they can hold up a conversation in at least three or four languages. You've got to be a quick learner for that one. The Arsenals are specialists in weapons. They know exactly how to use all of the stock we have here and they are experts in using them and setting up traps for the enemy. Survivalists are basically what the title entails, they know how to survive. In the event that the group gets into a situation away from civilization which can be very likely, the Survivalist knows how to build shelters and appropriately hunt for food if you run out of rations, as well as knowing exactly what's poisonous so you die of a bullet and not some plant," Liana wondered for a moment if she would rather be killed by a plant than by a bullet, but the latter seemed to be prefered around here, "The Sniper is trained as a scout. They know how to be sneaky and they're good at it too, they can stay still for hours and, as the title implies are the sniper and normally hang back in combat, but are no less useful. The strength is the last one, they're the most physically able of the group and function as the muscle."

The two women reached the door to their bunk, "And there's always a single leader. You can't really train for that, one is just chosen by the time teams are set up. The leaders are much more highly respected though, and if you end up a subordinate, one of the most important things is that you don't disrespect them." Elizabeta's expression stiffened for a moment, "The consequences I've heard are unspeakable." And then in an instant her smile was back as she opened the door for Liana and walked over to the small table, where five patches had been laid out. Liana noticed they corresponded to the roles.

The sniper's, a circular light green patch with a black rifle and a telescope crossing on it and above it was stitched a single black "S". The Linguist's was a grey heater divided diagonally with a black line; there is a white scroll in the bottom left section and an owl in the top right. The Survivalist's was next to it, an upside down triangle divided into three sections, a compass, a campfire and a knife. The Strength's took a bit of interpretation but in the end Liana was sure that was the role for the tall beige rectangle with a black eagle flying in front of a rising yellow sun. The Artillery's was last in the row; a dark green heater with three grey arrows wrapped around the middle with lightning and yellow stars were scattered across the top.

"So," Elizabeta swung her legs back and forth off the edge of her bed, "which do you think you'll choose?"

Liana stared down at the patches, brushing her fingers over each one carefully before quickly snatching up the Sniper patch and tracing around the rim. "This one." She couldn't see it, but she knew Elizabeta was smiling at her. Liana turned to prove her suspicions, only to find her new roommate holding back a giggle,

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing! It's perfect," Liana smiled and tucked the patch into her pocket. "What are you training to be?" Elizabeta folded up the collar of her blazer to reveal a tan patch with a coal colored eagle and a sun.

"A Strength." she replied.

"Really? You don't look like one."

"Trust me." She cracked her knuckles, "I'm stronger than I look."

Training began the next morning, and Liana was quickly shown the ropes. She learned then that her choice of being a sniper was not set in stone, she had to pass a series of tests over the course of training in order to be assigned to a group and set on a mission. The first step was a vision test, which Liana passed with ease. That and then the basic physical requirements officially placed Liana among the other snipers. She didn't make many friends, training was rather solitary. In battle, the sniper would most likely have no comrades by their side to cover for them, so that's how they were trained. Climbing difficult terrain and carrying heavy equipment, her strength grew, her aim with her rifle steadied, and her breathing became easy and slow. Rising through the ranks was no easy task, but Liana managed to impress the man in charge. Sergeant Zwingli it turned out had been one of the most skilled snipers Switzerland had to offer and his pure skill and teaching ability reflected that just as equally. Liana would return to her bunk tired and sore from the day's work, but a tiny smile rested on her lips as she felt she was progressing.

About a month into training, Liana was eating lunch next to Elizabeta, who was telling her about her upcoming physical as a strength.

"And they said in another few months everyone who came in over the summer will be assigned teams and locations."

Liana smiled a bit, but it was bittersweet, "That means we're all going to go in different directions."

"Yes, but try not to think of it that way," Elizabeta said, slapping a heavy hand on her friend's back, "Who knows? We might end up on the same team."

"Now I know you're too optimistic for your own good." Liana said, setting down her spoon. She turned back to Elizabeta to say more, but the brunette had sparked up a conversation with Roderich, who was walking to his own table when Elizabeta snagged him away. Liana held her question until Rocherich left, giving them both a friendly wave goodbye. Something approached Liana in her mind. What exactly was Elizabeta trying to get out of befriending Roderich in this way? The Hungarian girl sat back down and Liana looked at her quizzically.

"Why do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Talk to Rocherich like that every day. I know you like him, but if you were only looking for a fling, you could have had that by now."

Elizabeta's smile faded a bit, and she looked at her plate, letting out a long breath. "Liana, did I ever tell you Rocherich's last name?" Liana shook her head. "It's Edelstein. He lived in Switzerland before he joined the military. But there's a reason that an Austrian musician who loves his family would have to run to Switzerland." Liana knew all too well what Elizabeta was talking about, Roderich had run to escape persecution, and here he was being thrown right back into the chaos. "He misses his normal life, and I miss mine. This war is going to tear a lot of people apart and we're going to be scarred for life after this or more likely dead. So why waste our time now being so serious? It never hurt to have a bit of fun." Elizabeta's large grin returned and she was back to her springy disposition in seconds. "Honestly, Liana, live in the moment a bit more." Liana didn't know what to say in response so she simply went back to picking at her food with her fork.

After a few more weeks, Liana thought about Elizabeta's words and decided to follow them. She thought about what was happening in that exact moment and even became a little more social. Making a few more friends here and there and getting to know Roderich better. She slowly became the best sniper in her division. Liana was lithe and nimble and it was rare for her to slow dramatically if she was carrying weights. She could navigate the courses better and quicker than the tall and muscle-bound men. Her hands were steady and agile and she could be as quiet and as still as a statue. Sergeant Zwingli would smirk with pride at her when the weekly rankings were posted and Liana had solidified her spot at the top of the list. But as training flew by, graduation day grew steadily closer. Everyone would be sorted into groups at the end of November and sent off into teams and then their job would really begin. Liana was anxious about it. She was determined to start to fight, to chip away at the enemy, but she took a moment to look at the people around her. Talking and laughing, they were her friends, and there was a high likelihood that she would never see them again, and they would be injured or killed.

But not even Liana could stop time and it became the night before everyone was sent off. After the official graduation ceremony and description of what would occur the next morning given by Sergeant Zwingli, a group of five people gathered together in front of a crackling fire outside of the barracks. Liana sat in between Elizabeta and a Danish cadet training to be an Artillery named Matthias, but he was lacking his normal flair and snarky comments tonight. No one knew what to say, they only stared into the fire, as if it might give them an answer that they were looking for. But the fire didn't speak, and Liana was left to try and console herself in her own mind. _This is what you wanted,_ she thought, _This is progress. You're going to be assigned a team tomorrow and you'll fight alongside them as a sniper. You've done it, you're in the army. And you're going to make a change, for Alfred and Matthew._ The thought of her brothers comforted her. It reminded Liana of the Christmas cookies she'd make with them in their tiny kitchen. Or how Alfred would always make the biggest deal out of 4th of July, because it was his and Matthew's birthday as well as Independence Day. Liana glanced at her watch, the 28th of November. It would be the holidays again soon, but she doubted that there would be any kind of celebration when she was at war.

A log fell out of place and flushed into the ashes, sending a flurry of sparks into the sky. Roderich spoke, not taking his eyes away from the fire. "I want to offer this, just a small something as this will be the last time we're all together." He swallowed, "My family and I… we have a home in Switzerland. There's no war there, and I doubt there ever will be. If any of you need someplace to go, that door will always be open." Roderich told everyone the address and Liana couldn't help but make a note of it on a spare slip of paper and tuck it into a zippered pocket of her jacket.

Elizabeta's ever-present smile tugged on the corners of her lips, "I just may take you up on that offer." Her voice was so quiet Liana didn't think that anyone heard her except Roderich and herself. She put her hand on top of his and Roderich pulled his gaze away from the fire and looked at Elizabeta. Their gaze held strong for a moment before Rocherich tightened his grip on Elizabeta's face and looked back into the fire.

"I'd like that," Roderich whispered back, and Liana held back a tiny smile and looked back into the flames.

The familiar sound of horns woke Liana in her bed and she saw that Elizabeta was already awake and had her uniform on. Liana yawned and Elizabeta smiled at her.

"Are you ready?" she asked, extending her hand. Liana took it and heaved herself up, petting down her unruly black curls.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Liana grinned at her friend and put on her uniform. They hurried out into the common courtyard where many other cadets were shivering in the cold watching as Sergeant Zwingli attached the last list of paper filled with names to the wall. He stepped back as the cadets began to swarm the wall. Liana pushed past people and stood up on her toes to try and see the names and which groups they had been sorted into.

Elizabeta, who was admittedly a lot stronger than Liana, shoved through the crowd with ease and began scanning over the seemingly endless names. Her hazel eyes lit up as she spied her name, and even more so as she read the rest of the names for her team. The Strength clawed her way out of the fray and ran over to Roderich, a broad smile etched onto her lips. Liana finally managed to sneak her way to the front of the crowd and looked at the wall of names. They were organized first by location of base, and then there were the subdivisions of jobs and then teams below that. Liana looked over the groups bound for the French-Italian border and saw Elizabeta and Roderich's names next to each other, which made Liana a bit relieved for her friend. But Liana Jones hadn't been typed anywhere on that list.

She looked over Finland and USSR and didn't see her name there either, but then she spotted it. _Liana W. Jones_ was typed in neat font beneath the 24th group assigned to disable trade routes, under the giant text that read, _USSR-Korean Border_. Liana swallowed and she looked at the other names of people on her team. They seemed like foreign symbols, letters she didn't recognize smashed together underneath her own. _Иван Брагинский, Gilbert Beilschmidt, Toris Laurinaitis,_ _陈瑶_ _._

Relief flooded her stomach as she read that the common language was to be English. She had taken a few language classes and picked up bits and pieces of French, Spanish, and Russian but Liana was by no means fluent. After she'd committed her group number and location to memory, she hurried away from the chaos. She surveyed the crowd in search of Elizabeta and Roderich and saw the backs of their heads walking towards their station. Liana felt something in her tugging herself towards them but she turned away and instead walked back to the barracks. She picked up her already packed tiny suitcase, checked to make sure the sun, moon, and star were still on her bracelet and went in search of the train platform outside of camp designated for soldiers bound for the USSR-Korean border.

The train ride was sullen and silent and everyone was silent. Some looked out of the windows, watching the last of the greenery pass. It was expected that they wouldn't be seeing much more of that for a while, considering they would be traveling outside of the Soviet Union in the middle of winter. Liana felt a pang of jealousy as she thought of the men and women assigned to Italy or Spain, at least it would be warm there. But the ride seemed short and soon Liana was forced out of the train car by the rush of people and she stumbled onto the platform. There were men standing about, asking soldiers for their names and taking them off in opposite directions. One such man approached Liana.

"Name and assignment," his voice was dull, as if he had done this a hundred times before.

Liana swallowed, "Liana W. Jones, sniper, trade route division, group 24." The man pulled out a clipboard before scanning it.

"Come with me," he turned around and set off, leaving no time for Liana to follow him. He was determined and had a preset course. He wove his way through the bustling crowds with ease, but Liana wasn't far behind. He entered a small side room with a few people already in it. One of them stood up at the sound of the door opening.

"This is your team." The officer said depositing Liana in front of a group of four men. Liana stopped and took her time to survey each one. The one who had stood had had light brown hair that brushed his shoulders and soft green eyes. He wore a green military uniform and he had a patch on his right arm that Liana recognized at the linguist. The second man was Chinese, the owner of one of the names Liana couldn't read. He had long dark hair tied into a slim ponytail that hung halfway down his back; his amber eyes seemed to be searching the room around him for something more. Liana looked at his patch: survivalist.

The next man had a rather peculiar appearance; he reminded Liana of a blank sheet of paper. His scruffy hair and skin were colorless and they made his eyes look like dark inkblots. He was tall and lanky and his uniform seemed to be wearing him instead of him wearing it. He had his hands crossed over his chest, exposing the arsenal patch to anyone that passed him. The last man in line was the one she looked at for the longest, he seemed at least half a head taller than all the other soldiers and had white-blonde hair. He had a long nose and thin lips set permanently in a stern expression, his shoulders were broad and he was built with muscle. His eyes seemed violet in the light and he wore a thick scarf around his neck, the ends just brushing against the strength patch, but this one had a thick scarlet border around the edge. This was the leader, her leader. Liana tugged on the sleeves of her own dark green sniper uniform and looked at them as a whole. This was her team. She waved awkwardly, "Um...hi."

The Chinese man narrowed his eyes at her, "Wait hold on, there's a chick on our team?" Liana would have expected a heavy accent from the man, but instead he spoke with no accent. If Liana didn't know any better she would have said he could have lived down the road from her.

"I am disappointed in you, Yao," the Strength said, he had an accent, it was thick with the sounds of the Russian language and Liana shivered. "Did you not read the other names?"

Yao huffed, "I was looking for my own name, not some girl's." Liana looked at him with narrowed eyes, but the Linguist approached her next, he smiled at her kindly.

"My name is Toris Laurinaitis," his voice was painted with the tones of some slavic language Liana couldn't identify, "Pleased to meet you Sniper." He extended a hand and Liana smiled back and shook it. His grip was light and Liana felt somewhat comforted by it.

"Liana Jones. Nice to meet you."

"This is Gilbert Beilschmidt," Toris pointed to the pale one, "Yao Chen, and our leader, Ivan Braginski." Toris gave her a reassuring smile and Liana nodded slowly, looking away from the simple man to eye up all of her teammates a second time. They all seemed to regard her differently. Yao had skepticism in his eyes, amber irises trying to gage any potential that Liana might have in her. Gilbert seemed unsure of what to think, tilting his head slightly. Liana figured he didn't care much about what people thought of him, judging by the distant look in his inkblot eyes and slouched posture. Liana's eyes met with her leader's. They were unwavering and stern she stared at him for a while until her leader broke the connection first. He closed his eyes and let out a short breath. He pushed himself up from where he was sitting and it was confirmed, Braginski stood taller than the rest of the group.

"Come," he said making his way towards the door, "we'll be sent out soon. I don't want to keep the pilot waiting."


End file.
